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In addition to helping people dealing with addiction as an admissions counselor at Marworth Treatment Center, Lora Jones of Clarks Summit is a mother of two who is active in the PTA at her sons' school.

Lora Jones believes everything happens for a reason.

It seems then that she was destined to fulfill the roles she had long envisioned for herself as a mother and employee of Marworth Treatment Center.

"I'm a very big believer in there are no such things as coincidence," the lifelong Clarks Summit resident said on a recent afternoon at the home she shares with her husband and two young sons.

Mrs. Jones has spent nearly 14 years working for the Waverly Twp. treatment center, mostly as an admissions counselor. While some people who work in the addiction field are inspired to do so by personal experience, Mrs. Jones explained that she simply was fascinated by psychology, which she started studying in high school.

"It was very interesting learning about human nature," she said.

She went on to earn a psychology degree with a business minor from the University of Scranton and took a job as a counselor at Marworth. Mrs. Jones did that for a year before moving on to her current position, which involves talking to patients before they come in for treatment and processing them once they arrive.

Like a family

"We're very much like a family (in admissions), and we all kind of look out for each other and help each other," she said.

The work can be challenging because patients can be scared or feel like no one has experienced what they are, Mrs. Jones said, but she always tells them that there are hundreds of others who are dealing with the same issues.

And when she hears from former patients who now are doing well as a result of their time at Marworth, she is reminded of how important her work can be. What she enjoys most about the work is "knowing that I'm helping someone get their life back."

Of course, Marworth isn't her only job. Mrs. Jones, whose husband works 12-hour days on opposite hours from her, also is a mom to 10-year-old Spencer and 6-year-old Trevor, and vice president of the Clarks Summit Elementary School PTA. She joined the group when Spencer entered kindergarten and serves as its unofficial communications coordinator, managing its website, Facebook account and emails. Earlier this year, she also helped coordinate a survey about the PTA's work and is in charge of the reader board in front of the school.

"I do whatever I can to help out," Mrs. Jones said.

Her kids play sports, too, and she helps out with concessions and as a "team mom." Mrs. Jones always wanted to be a mom, and she said "motherhood has sort of defined me."

"My friends in high school would tease me and say I acted like their mother back then," she said with a laugh. "I can't imagine my life without my kids."

Thyroid cancer

Mrs. Jones has accomplished a lot in the last few years, and all while dealing with some personal problems, too. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 30 and dealt with it twice more, but it actually reinforced her belief that there are no coincidences, and that timing is everything.

Mrs. Jones first noticed a problem with her thyroid before having her second son, but a checkup showed a lump was just a nodule. After her younger boy's birth, however, she noticed it had grown and was diagnosed with cancer, which required treatment with radioactive iodine. Since she is not supposed to get pregnant after having such a treatment because of potential problems, an earlier diagnosis could have changed her life dramatically.

"The big thing though is that they don't want you to get pregnant after you have (the treatment). ... I would have probably never had my second son," she said.

Mrs. Jones must continue to monitor her thyroid and visit the doctor, but she is doing well now. She has great support among work, the PTA and her family, too, which became more apparent during her medical problems.

"I wouldn't say (cancer is) something that defines me. ... It is what it is," said Mrs. Jones, noting she doesn't really consider herself to be a cancer survivor. "And I look at it almost as being a blessing in a sense. ... It really brings out the people that love and care about you."

Contact the writer: cheaney@timesshamrock.com, @cheaneyTT on Twitter

TO NOMINATE A NORTHEAST WOMAN, please submit requests via e-mail to lifestyles @timesshamrock.com or mail them to Northeast Woman Nominations, The Sunday Times, 149 Penn Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. Please include the woman's name, address and the reason the reader feels the woman is deserving. Those submitting need to include their name and a daytime phone number.Meet Lora Jones

At home: Lives in Clarks Summit with her husband, Dennis, and their sons, Spencer and Trevor

At work: Admissions counselor at Marworth Treatment Center

Inspirations: Her parents, Ray and Elaine Taylor of Clarks Summit, who have been married and ran a business together for many years

Aspirations: To make it through and make the most out of every day, to enjoy her children and to become a nurse one day

Diversions: Reading, walking, gardening

Aversion: People who lie. "I want to be able to trust people," she said

Quote: "There is no such thing as coincidence. It all happens for a reason."

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